CloudxLeon: The Beast Within
by Naturestrikes
Summary: They thought Cloud Strife had fallen to the darkness once again. How wrong they were.
1. One More Chance

**The Beast Within**

**Chapter One**

**One More Chance**

"We just worry about you."

Blue eyes rose slowly from the ground he stood upon to settle on the kindly female before him. Her hands were clasped and resting in the middle of her chest, her own green eyes quavering with worry. And as they both lapsed into silence, she became more anxious. She bit her lip a little, edging closer to the man and touching his shoulder.

Cloud Strife turned his head aside, eyes averted.

"Speak to me..." The brunette woman whispered, lifting her hand shakily to stroke a blond bang of hair on Cloud's cheek. His skin felt like soft, yet so cold. But even her warm touch wouldn't make the swordsman word his thoughts. He wouldn't even look at her.

Aerith withdrew her hand slowly, keeping it halfway between his cheek and her chest for a moment, before bringing it back to its previous position. Her heart ached. For here was a man she loved, and believed her loved her in return. He never _had _said it, but the embraces, the kisses... Could all of what she thought they had, they shared, been a lie? No; _this must be temporary…_

"Please..." The brunette female pleaded, feeling her heart break. She clamped a hand over her mouth when Cloud simply turned his back on her, muttering "I need to be alone."

Aerith took a step forward to follow him, only to have someone's hand on her shoulder. She gave a soft cry and turned quickly, rushing away in the opposite direction. She knew not whose hand it was that had come to rest upon her shoulder, but knew why Cloud had said what he had. It wasn't that he needed space.

It meant what they had, or what she thought they had, was _over._

--

His friends had saved from the darkness so many times. So it didn't surprise him when nobody followed him as he walked away this time. He didn't feel anything when Aerith turned away. His excuse, if he'd been bothered to give one, would have been that it was too dangerous to love a warrior, someone who could fall in battle and leave her heart broken either way. But the truth was that if she was to love him, and him love her in return, he'd probably have killed her.

The darkness in Cloud had now taken over him; taken over his thoughts and words, his actions-- Which was probably the reason why he hadn't responded when Aerith had spoken to him. Nor when she cried and ran away. He hadn't the time to follow her and explain. The darkness inside of him was growing stronger by the minute; he needed to get away as soon as possible.

It was late afternoon, and when Cloud reached the border of the town, where the gummi ships were docked, he turned on the spot, once baby blue eyes looking over the town. He pictured the faces of his friends for the last time, fearing he wouldn't be able to do so when darkness consumed him completely.

In his mind he saw Yuffie, giving him a 'peace' sign with two fingers, grinning widely. He saw Cid sat at the computer, having a smoke. He saw Tifa with her hands on her hips, leaning forwards and saying something to him, probably teasing or joking. He tilted his head sideways when he pictured beautiful Aerith standing with her flowers, offering him a warm smile. And then he saw Leon, leaning against a wall with his arms folded, inclining his head slightly in greeting.

The blond opened his eyes, frowning as he couldn't remember shutting them in the first place. A bell sounded for the beginning of the next hour of the afternoon. He took a step forward, readying to leave the town.

That was when darkness gripped him tightly, pulling him back and he choked, doubling over before jerking back, head tossed back and he gave an almighty roar. The sound rippled through the quiet of the area, the people around him freezing or backing off with terror.

He stood like a statue for a minute, fingers curled into his palms to form tight fists, head thrown back and teeth gritted, eyes clenched shut. When he thawed from his position, slowly moving back to a normal, albeit tensed, stance, he was panting softly, eyes glowing brightly.

Not the pretty blue they were before, but like liquid sapphires.

The blond swordsman gave a soft snort, whirling on the spot, checking the area as if he'd never seen it before, breathing in and out quickly like he was sniffing. It was as if his nose had become hypersensitive, he could smell everything and everyone, the scents confusing and mixed, varying from the oil of the gummi ships to the faded smell of mint chewing gum stuck to ground.

One particular smell wafted around and he turned slightly, seeing an oddly patterned, colorful path in front of him. It was as if a toddler had been let loose with paints of all colors and had ran in a certain direction, splashing the paints as they went.

Face creased in confusion, Cloud backed away, inhaling. The path was what scent that stood out amongst all the smells. He followed the path, the aroma becoming stronger as he went along.

--

"I... I just don't know what's brought all of this back." Aerith spoke quietly. She was sat down at Merlin's house, slender fingers wrapped around a warm cup of coffee. Sat next to her was Tifa, and at the table was Yuffie cleaning a shuriken, lips pursed in concentration. Leon was stood next to the computer, where Cid had swiveled around on his chair to face the brunette.

The house was warm compared to outside, where the sun was setting now and people were making their way back from work. The Restoration Committee had taken the afternoon off for some well-earned rest after rebuilding the school and fixing the pipes within it. It was supposed to be time spent thinking for themselves, relaxing and having fun.

Cloud was on all of their minds.

"I thought he'd finally done it. Defeated the darkness, that is. He seemed..."

"Oh yeah? He just keeps doing it." Yuffie let out an annoyed sigh, "What's so special about the _darkness_ anyway, huh? _I_ think that--"

"Shut yer trap. Y'ain't helpin' no-one with your f'ing blabber." Cid interrupted Yuffie vulgarly, drumming his fingers on the computer's keyboard. The young ninja just huffed and pouted, wiping her blades clean as the group lapsed into silence. It seemed no-one found anything wrong with it, and for a moment they were left to their own thoughts.

Even Merlin, who was by his bookshelf, was stroking his long thick beard thoughtfully. None of them had seen Cloud that day, excluding Aerith, and after the healer had told the group what had happened between them, there'd been a discussion of the reasons Cloud had turned to the darkness again.

And only one of them was losing sleep over the matter.

A low voice broke the silence and tore everyone from their thoughts, "Maybe he didn't turn to the darkness." It was Leon, and everyone's eyes settled on the gunblader as he continued, "Maybe something else is wrong." The rest of the group stared at the male in confusion.

"What do you mean, 'Maybe something else is wrong'? What else could it be...?" Tifa questioned, tilting her head slightly.

Leon said nothing. Aerith lifted her head, brunette bangs falling behind her ears, "This time was different..."

Tifa frowned, "Huh?"

"I..." Aerith stroked her rim of her mug with a delicate finger, "Well... Usually... He talks." She paused, blinking at the others' confused faces, "He tells me why he needs the darkness, or says something about Sephiroth. This time was different… he didn't even lookat me."

Yuffie snorted, "Huh?? Well… That's not enough proof to say it isn't the darkness this time." The ninja put her weapons down on the table, looking over at Aerith who just lowered her head again. Yuffie scratched the back of her head, and mumbled "Well... I don't know... I suppose..."

The brunette shook her head "Will he keep doing this? How many times will we be able to bring him back from the darkness? We have to find him before we lose him completely, there might be hope...! Gosh, what was I doing just letting him go?"

The female stood suddenly, putting the mug down and heading for the door. But before she could reach it, Leon stepped sideways, blocking her path.

"It's late." He stated.

"No, no!" Aerith exclaimed, eyes widened "There might still be hope for him, if we could just--"

"No." Leon murmured, arms folded, "I meant it's late; it's dark. We can search for Cloud tomorrow."

Aerith opened her mouth slightly in protest, but met Leon's grey eyes, seeing that she wouldn't win even if she did decide to argue. Nodding, she turned around and gathered her flowers. She then left for bed.

Tifa finished her beverage, washed through the dishes and did the same. Yuffie followed a few minutes later. The blond mechanic muttered something about the computer, stood abruptly then left too.

Only Merlin remained, sitting down with a thick, torn magic book and stroking his beard, lost within the book.

That was when Leon opened the front door, and, without a word, disappeared into the night; with only the door creaking in protest.

--

It was a dark, cool evening. Thick grey clouds in the sky threatened rain or even a storm as they shone dull silver due to the obscured moon lingering behind them. Streetlamps illuminated the town in an amber glow, and house windows were lit behind drawn curtains. There was no-one to be seen in the streets at this time in the night.

Leon was out searching for Cloud.

He didn't particularly want to. He'd much rather be at home, relaxing after a busy day's work.

His excuse was; he disliked seeing Aerith in any other state than her normal happy self. Everyone did.

Cloud was nowhere to be seen, and after around an hour of searching, Leon was starting to wonder if the blond swordsman had left the town this time. Usually the male would have been found brooding somewhere. And he wasn't at his house. It wasn't like Leon knew Cloud that much; the only words they'd ever rarely exchanged were ones of greeting and work tasks.

By then he had looked everywhere, from the Bailey to Crystal Fissure. Perhaps the blond swordsman had left town already. It wasn't like anyone could have stopped him; if his mind was set to going- nobody could have stopped him. But what concerned the brunet was the suspicion that Cloud was falling to the darkness again, or something else, he could be a danger to the people; whether it was his hometown or another town.

Hyne above, where was he? Not there, that was for certain.

Leon snorted, pinching the bridge of his nose and turning to leave for his house. It was only then that he felt a change in the atmosphere around him.

The air had gone colder, a light wind picking up that made his clothes ripple slightly against his body, feathery brunet locks swaying gently. Narrow gunmetal eyes skimmed over his surroundings warily. Suddenly he felt like he was not alone.

He whirled on the spot, hand flying to the hilt of his weapon as he did so, only to find himself nose to nose with a stranger in the darkness. It was a moment of total stillness, the mystery person's breathing warm on his lips.

He held his own breath, stiffened, before a sudden movement had him sprawled awkwardly on the floor without warning. His back felt the impact first, pain shooting up his spine and then the back of his head thudded dully against the ground. Only a quiet groan of pain left his lips, head aching slightly.

Leon inhaled sharply, blaming the fall on letting his guard down during that moment of complete standstill. This time his opponent would not be so lucky.

"… Who's there? Show yourself…!" The scarred male ordered in a growl, already getting to his feet, right hand by his hip, ready to draw his weapon when he was attacked again.

There was an eerie silence. Leon growled into it before falling silent himself. But then the silence was broken abruptly by the sound of muffled pattering, like rain falling on a window. Brow creasing in confusion, Leon held out his hand uncertainly. It wasn't raining, but it was windy.

_So what in Hyne's name was that sound?_

In truth, Leon didn't know. He was soon to find out though, as he saw what looked dozens of moving shadows in the distance. And as they approached, he realized they were Heartless, yellow eyes coming into view, all of them seemingly locking onto him, _hungrily._ In the dark it was just a swarm of glowing eyes advancing on him, quite a frightening sight. The darkness was blending with the deadly sharp claws, hiding them from view.

And with no one else around, except, perhaps, the being that had caused him to land on his back previously, it seemed the battle was all his. Casting a few buffing spells on himself and drawing his weapon, the brunet didn't have to wait long before the creatures were crawling for him, those little black claws extended, raring to rip into him. Of course, Leon was not going to let that happen.

He hacked through the Heartless with practiced ease, completely focused on his battle. A few mistakes were made, which resulted in a minor wound on his left side and a ripped leather trouser leg. He eliminated the last of the shadowy cluster with a fire spell, flames briefly illuminating the area around him as the creatures dissolved in the magick.

The fire spell was all it took to see what was beside him. And it was a male human being, silent. The flames died before he could even attempt to identify him, and before he could begin to cast another fire spell to do so, the sparks were extinguished and his hand was left soaking wet.

_The unfamiliar person had used a water spell._

Leon growled again, lunging blindly at the male, grabbing a handful of the man's shirt and latching onto the male even as he began to move away. Leon dragged the male with him as he began to look for the nearest light of the streets. But before he could go any further he was pulled to the floor by the retaliating mystery man. Bringing the stranger with him, Leon landed with a thud, rolling them over so he was in control, grabbing the collar of the man's… vest?

Using a fire spell, Leon held the flames in his hand, placing it threateningly at the stranger's throat. His eyes narrowed further when he found out who the male was.

It wasCloud.

Leon merely snorted. He should have expected this; after all, he'd found what he'd been searching for. He was restless now and would have much preferred to have been at home instead of chasing after the bastard blond.

"You sent those Heartless, didn't you." He stated rather than questioned. When the blond remained silent, Leon sighed, standing and pulling the man to his feet too, shoving him. "You've gone back to what we've pulled you from again and again. Why do you do it?"

_No answer._

He didn't really expect one either. He guessed he'd never understand why the male gave in. Was he doing it for attention or something? What could be so appealing about the darkness that it made him want to turn to away from his friends, betray them, and hurt them?

"We can't chase after you forever, Cloud." He stated matter-of-factly, keeping his blade drawn and ready to strike back if and when he was attacked again, "Just tell me why." He muttered to the blond, keeping the spell on his hand active, watching as the blond simply stared past him instead of at him, blue eyes vacant. Was he being ignored, or could the blond simply not hear him?

But then, the blond spoke, in a low, dark voice. If it had been any quieter, Leon wouldn't have known it was him.

"_Only the lion would be pleased."_

Leon frowned. What was that supposed to mean? It was completely irrelevant to anything he'd just said to the swordsman. What lion? And why would it be pleased?

It was a random thing to come out with if anything and the brunet just grunted, "Whatever. It's clear you have no idea what you're saying. If I didn't know any better; I'd be calling you a lost cause." _There is hope. They have faith in you. _

Cloud merely laughed; whether or not he had understood what the male had just said was unclear.

What mattered was that he brought the not-quite-sane man back to Merlin's house; where he and the others could decide what they'd do to help him. Even though, quite frankly, Leon was getting fed up of Cloud selfishly turning his back on everyone and switching to the dark side every five Hyne-damned minutes; he was prepared to go out of his way to help the blond. Because he knew he would, by doing so, be helping the others.

If only Leon had known Cloud and not the others, he'd already have left the man to whatever the darkness had for him. It was his friends that he was looking out for, not the blond.

He simply didn't understand what was so great about the darkness that made him betray his friends- the ones who had pulled him out of said darkness every time. Perhaps the blond couldn't help it, and the male had forever been searching for his light. Cloud was a warrior, not a weakling.

And they had all been certain it was the last time Cloud would go back, that he would stay with his light, his friends, forever.

Leon turned to the man, looking over him studiously. The blond was staring past him again. Taking a step forward, the brunet took a moment to look at the other. Cloud's clothes were rumpled and quite dirty, like he hadn't changed them for a few days. His hair looked like he'd dragged his fingers through it hundreds of times, the usually neat soft spikes looking quite unkempt. His eyes were blank, skin pale. He looked like a completely different man.

"_The lion's roar and the wolf's howl is the perfect symphony of portraying their domination. May the victory be theirs."_

Leon saw Cloud's lips move slightly, but otherwise, if his back had been turned, he wouldn't have known it was the blond. The voice in which he'd spoken had been a low growl. The brunet gave a snort, inwardly noting he'd have to get used to these random comments Cloud made. He had to remind himself that Cloud wasn't in the right frame of mind, and anything he did say was not of importance.

"Alright, let's go." The brunet muttered, taking Cloud's arm, twisting it behind him and muttering a quick binding spell. He was exhausted and in dire need of a hot bath, a meal and then a good night's sleep. He pushed the man forward, and was relieved when Cloud's feet began to move; glad he didn't have to drag the man there.

He'd been up half the night _searching _for him for Hyne's sake.

Having instantly forgotten what Cloud had said previously, the journey back was silent and easy. Cloud went without a word, moving a little sluggishly which was probably due to lack of sleep and Leon knew the feeling, eyelids drooping slightly. Leon kept his hands on the male constantly, in case he suddenly decided to bolt, and so couldn't see what expression Cloud had on his face if any.

Pushing open the door to Merlin's house, he sat Cloud down and addressed the wizard with, "Hope I wasn't gone long."

The elder just gave a hearty laugh, shaking his head and waving a hand dismissively, "No, no. Not at all…" He paused, "How is he?" As if he already knew Cloud wouldn't be able to speak for himself. That or he didn't want to talk to the darkness-riddled blond.

Leon gave a grunt, leaning heavily on the table. "He's fine. No wounds to speak of, only… He doesn't talk too much and when he does speak, it's just nonsense. And that's all." The gunblader stood up straight, back clicking as he did so.

He brushed brunet bangs aside and murmured another binding spell, keeping Cloud to the sofa. "That should hold for the rest of what's left of the night." He spoke, mostly to himself, and then added a 'good night' to Merlin before retiring to his own room back at the castle.

The scarred male was confident that the spells would hold out for the rest of the night, and as he climbed into bed after a quick meal- he erased Cloud and his words from his thoughts, turned over, flicked off the lights, shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

--

What in the worlds were they doing? Teeth grinding together in frustration, the bound male struggled for freedom. He actually could not leave the couch, like he was magically glued to the worn old thing.

Sneering, he curled up slightly. The room smelt of many things. Previously cooked food and old books were the ones that stuck out from the rest of the scents. Bright eyes took in his surroundings. It was dark now, and only the old magician was awake and sat some distance from him. He wouldn't waste words on him, though.

What were they planning to do with him? Eyes flickered in the limited light. He could hear movement- but thought nothing of it. The blond supposed he could wait- bide his time even. It made no difference to him; he had all the time in the worlds. He had all the time in the worlds to wait for _his lion_.

That was all that he wanted. His lion was a being of true pride and loyalty- not to mention power.

Cloud was practically tingling with excitement at the mere thought, liquid sapphire eyes shining at the prospect of joining his lion. It's what this new being always longed for; something deep inside him feeling a void and pushing forwards to be let loose to fill it. And here he was, letting it loose whilst being magically bound to an aging couch.

As one could see, Cloud's plans were going _very_ well.

Growling with impatience, Cloud knelt on the sofa and listened intently. He wished to be roaming the streets, wanting to find his lion- be reunited with his lion after all this time.

_He was a wolf._

He was also becoming impatient, raking his nails down the side of the sofa- clawing slowly out of sheer boredom. It made a terrible noise, and he peered at the elderly magician across the room, waiting for a reaction- Anything to ease the boredom. But the dull wizard just turned the page of his worn book. Cloud gave a snort, lying down.

_Lion will be here soon… He will… They can't keep me here forever…_

--

Quite a beautiful day in Radiant Garden, it was. The sun was shining brighter than it ever had and children were laughing and rushing to their newly restored school- unable to contain their excitement at seeing the rebuilt building for the first time in a year.

Leon was up early. He had shadowed eyes and his shoulders drooped. He wasn't as bad as he'd been in the past- working overnight; hardly paying attention to anything anyone was saying and falling asleep over cups of coffee in his breaks the next day. He could cope. At least he'd had a few hours sleep, anyway.

With a soft groan, he opened the front door. A new day, more work. But first he had something else to take care of.

Cloud.


	2. Turmoil

**The Beast Within**

**Chapter Two**

**Turmoil**

"Don't _touch_ me!"

"Cloud… I…"

"Get away! Get!" The blond swordsman snarled, swiping at the kindly brunette woman who knelt next to him despite Tifa's warning to be careful, that she had to remember that Cloud wasn't himself lately. But Aerith simply didn't care. She'd reached out to touch the growling male only to have her hand roughly batted away.

Aerith stood, not wanting to anger the magically bound man any further. She felt no anger herself with the male, even if her hand did sting from being slapped away. She didn't blame him for having the attitude he did, given his current state. Aerith then turned to look at Tifa, who just approached and put her hand on her friend's shoulder, offering a sad smile as a gesture of condolence. The two females looked up when Leon entered the house.

Cid turned to acknowledge the new presence, rubbed his nose with the back of his hand and snorted "Huh… Y'look like _shit_."

Leon merely glared in Cid's direction, passing the blond to stand a little closer, observing the male he'd spent the morning dragging to Merlin's.

Cloud seemed to look even worse than he did right then. The soft spiky locks were mussed and unkempt, wild, even. His skin had paled and it didn't look like the selfish bastard had eaten anything for a long while as his cheeks seemed slightly sunken. His eyes seemed to be the only part of him that was truly alive. It looked like his face was an angry mask and that his eyes were the only real part. And even then, his eyes appeared to look like they had dancing sapphire flames inside.

The brunet approached calmly, breaking the magical bounds that held the blond in place and grabbing the exhausted male's wrist, tugging him from the sofa and wordlessly dragging him into another room. Once they were away from the others, he let Cloud go.

Turning the lights on, the dark narrow room was lit up and showed bookshelves full of books. If Merlin had minded him coming in here, the wizard would have already made it clear. The walls of the room were made of stone, and the room itself was quite messy as some odd books that hadn't been put back into their original place (if they had ever had one) littered the floor. One book had managed to be spread across the room as torn pages were scattered across the stone ground.

Cloud seemed confused. He glared at Leon, then seemingly wondering why they had to change rooms in the first place. He stretched a bit, until his back clicked, then strode around the room, eyeing the shelves of books.

A library, he noted. Why did the brunet want to bring him in here? He snorted and turned to see Leon leaning against the door, arms folded and head bowed. A growl rose in his throat.

The scents in the library were very musty. He could see them. Mists of mustard yellow, tawny brown and grey green hovering about the shelves, Cloud's nose crunched in distaste. When he turned back to Leon again, he saw a silvery light emanating from his lean figure. Creeping closer, Cloud inhaled deeply.

The gunblader raised his head, brows drawn together slightly, ragged scar creasing. What in Hyne's name did Cloud think he was playing at now?

Not really knowing what to think, Leon stared down at the approaching blond. "You've lost it." He muttered, turning his head aside slightly.

Cloud was acting like some strange animal. And there was a reason they were in this room in the first place. He wanted to; firstly, see how Cloud would react to it. And secondly, he wondered if the male could manage any coherent answers to the questions he had. The words the blond had to say early that morning had been completely nonsensical. He wanted straight answers.

—_What in Hyne's name…_

His thoughts were broken abruptly when Cloud got too close for comfort, and the brunet reached out to hold him at arms length, narrowing his eyes warningly. Cloud didn't seem to care; he pushed up close, sniffed his body and let a purr-like noise rumble in his throat.

Leon actually froze and let his arms drop slightly, tensed up against the thick wooden door and stared down at Cloud, who took advantage and pushed up closer, snuffling the other's clothed stomach, sighing against it. The brunet wasn't comfortable, but he wanted to know what this was all about. But still, he was ever wary of Cloud.

He cleared his throat, "What are you doing?" He tried to sound smooth and unaffected, but his voice caught as soon as he started speaking.

No response came from the swordsman, who was making happy little noises against the fabric of the other's shirt, pressing the side of his face against it and he felt the ridges of toned muscles bulge against his hollowed cheek. He was half crouching to be in that position, legs quaked a little as he nuzzled against the male's stomach.

Leon gave a soft snort, standing still and letting the blond do what he wanted. The boundary line was abruptly crossed, though, when Cloud's deft fingers crept beneath his crisp white shirt without warning, and he gently pried the blond's hand away. "No." He stated firmly, raising a fine brow at Cloud.

A growl rumbled in Cloud's throat. He didn't seem to like being told when to stop, and he bared his teeth at Leon like an animal would, slinking back with a metaphorical tail between his legs and parking himself a few meters away him.

_What in Hyne's name was that? _

Leon breathed out smoothly; the cooler touch to his warm stomach had had him jumping in surprise. The more time he spent around the blond, the more he began to relate the other's current characteristics to that of an animal. Though in Leon's mind, he guessed Cloud was a wolf. Merely because of what the girls called his 'door-knocker' on his armor. Along with the fact his bike was called Fenrir. It was the first animal that came to mind.

"A… wolf, hmm…" Leon found himself speaking aloud.

Cloud jerked his head up, wild eyes focusing on the brunet. He heard his _name_.

_How does this human know my name? _The blond growled "Who are you?" Yes, yes. Who was this stranger that called him by his name?

Leon was yet again taken-aback. He stared at Cloud for a moment. The blond had actually responded to being called a wolf. Feeling like this was a vital fragment of information; the brunet crouched, a gloved hand resting on the ground. Now he was at equal eye-level with the sitting blond.

He answered evenly, playing along, "Well, that is your name, isn't it; Wolf?"

The blond grunted, looked aside, and then looked back with a nod. "…Yeah." He answered, near smirking. "How do you know that, hmm? Who told you?" Cloud began to creep closer, eyeing the brunet cautiously.

Suspecting he had to be careful now, Leon cleared his throat slightly, and picked his words very carefully. "Nobody told me. I just know." He watched Cloud approach on all fours, keeping calm so not to provoke any sudden random reactions from the blond. He didn't really know a wolf's behaviors and characteristics.

_He also never thought he'd find himself pondering them either. _

Cloud didn't seem to accept that answer. His eyebrows furrowed and he snapped "Don't lie to me, you silly human." He sneered "If you _just knew_, then you would have _known_ that I was a wolf the first time you laid your _inferior_ eyes upon me!" He smacked the ground with a hand, edging closer by a fraction.

He backed off slightly, raising a brow at Cloud. The blond was clever indeed, not just your average wolf. He knew enough to say that not all wolves could speak as intelligently as Cloud could- and so dismissed the fact that Cloud was actually pure wolf despite being in a human body. There was still a piece of Cloud that was still human. It supplied the intelligence to form words to speak his mind. It meant that there was still humanity within the blond.

_It meant that there was hope of restoring Cloud to normal._

--------

"Is he alright? He didn't look too good…"

"Did you get hurt at all? Did he destroy the entire library? Squally??"

"How is he?"

"Well? Open yer trap and let's be havin' some answers from ya."

Leon was silent as the flood of questions came his way from the others and kept a firm grip on Cloud's arm. The blond didn't seem to care much, just stared at the upper walls and ceiling of the room as if they had something very interesting about them. His blue eyes then rove over the room, ending up with settling on Leon, expressionless.

The brunet shushed everyone, holding Cloud close and tight. One might have got the impression that it was a gesture of possessiveness, but in fact it was in case this 'wolf' decided he wanted to run off or attack someone.

The fact was; Leon truly didn't know what Cloud's next words or actions would be and so he kept his guard up around the blond. It was something he had learned ten minutes ago, after talking with the blond he'd received a swift swipe across the face.

Cloud had been amused.

Leon had not.

His grazed cheek didn't bother him. Perhaps it was the fact he hadn't seen it coming and should have. It could have been his eye that was scratched, so he was lucky it was only his cheek. The scar that tore across his face was just another reminder of how fortunate he was to have eyesight from both eyes.

Breathing in, Leon replied to the group "I don't know what's wrong with him." –_Partially true, _"But it's not the darkness." He announced, tugging the blond along. The others seemed to deflate a bit. But Leon could not and would not provide anymore information. He didn't think Cloud would take too kindly, in his wolfish ways, to being prodded for information and possibly even prodded or pressured into 'giving the old Cloud back'.

"An' where do you think _you're_ goin'?" Cid demanded, his toothpick hanging from his lips.

Leon turned. Ah, right. The next part, "Cloud, in the meantime, will be staying with me. So I keep a close eye on him and try to find out what's wrong with him." For a moment, Leon forgot to protect his words.

_That was a mistake._

Cloud tore his arm free, and roared "_Nothing_ is _wrong_ with me!" He then pushed Leon roughly enough to send Leon staggering had he not half been expecting it and stormed out of the house and out onto the streets.

Leon paused, regaining his balance and staring at the open door.

A sniff and a short laugh came from the older blond sat by the computer, "So… what was that bit 'bout keepin' a close eye on 'im?" He continued to chuckle even when Leon leveled a cold glare at him and ran out after the blond.

"I'll be seein' yer puny ass later, Leonhart! Hah!"

Anything that lay loose in the street, the blond kicked hard, shoulders hunched and fists clenched. He was utterly insulted by the brunet's words. He was actually beginning to warm up to the scarred man; but those words reminded him how blunt some humans would be. No doubt that the male thought something was wrong with him.

Leon looked around, trying to guess which way the blond had ran, then chose to run towards the Bailey. With each step he hoped the blond wouldn't be too far away and prayed to Hyne that he had chosen the right way.

He had.

Skidding to a halt, Leon inhaled sharply. Cloud was picking up a dead mouse from the floor. The rodent was squashed, sodden and filthy. Cloud lifted it up for inspection, turning it around and holding it by its tail. The brunet watched warily, coming a little closer and not knowing what to expect.

What happened next, though, had Leon freezing on the spot.

The blond, after checking the half rotten mouse out, had lifted it higher. Leon had taken one step forward then his eyes widened as Cloud opened his mouth and lowered the rodent between his lips, eyes closing. The blond didn't look disgusted, didn't recoil or gag. He ate the dead creature in content, spitting out bones and little bits of guts onto the floor by his feet.

_He's eaten a Hyne-damned mouse!?_

The gunblader felt his stomach churn unpleasantly. But he advanced and questioned queasily "Did you enjoy that?"

Wiping a thin string of gut from his mouth and picking it from his teeth, Cloud nodded absently, not really paying attention and so couldn't see Leon looking nauseous.

The brunet apparently still had a lot to learn.


	3. Investigation Underway

**The Beast Within**

**Chapter Three**

**Investigation Underway**

"I'm afraid living conditions are not as up to scratch as they could be…"

The wolfish blond snorted softly.

"But it'll have to do." The brunet finished, removing his boots.

The blond wordlessly moved forwards without taking his own footwear off, taking in his surroundings. Leon's home seemed to be a little on the messy side, yes. He imagined the restoration leading gunblader wouldn't really the have _time _to keep a neat home. In his mind, the house made the perfect den and a bit of mess never did anyone any harm!

A sigh passed Leon's lips. Watching Cloud walk over his floor with muddy boots, he tugged off his own and avoided the dirty marks Cloud had made as he padded into the kitchen.

Cloud sniffed. Leon's home was a boring smell. Leon's scent was definitely there but nothing else besides a little coffee really stood out. Collapsing back onto Leon's sofa, the blond sighed. He imagined this was going to be a very unexciting time.

He really shouldn't have let Leon talk him into coming back to his place.

_Still, who could refuse the offer of more food?_

In the kitchen, Leon was rifling through drawer after drawer, cupboard after cupboard and then fridge and freezer to find some meat for the blond swordsman in the other room. If he broke his promise to the blond then he'd lose trust—something he needed to keep with the blond in order to get this 'wolf' side of him to confide in him.

When was the last time he went shopping for groceries anyway? He couldn't actually remember…

Making his way back into the lounge, he saw Cloud had made himself at home. He gave little snort of amusement and moved closer.

The blond, not wasting time, asked outright "Where's my food then?"

_Ah._

Leon replied calmly, "I have yet to get some. Don't worry, you will have it. Patience…"

A growl rumbled in Cloud's throat, and he clenched his fists slightly. Patience was something he lacked when his stomach was making the same noises as he was. He didn't seem to like being told to wait, nor did he like being told to have patience it seemed. Still, the human was nothing worth getting angry over now was he? He _was _beginning to warm up to the brunet considerably, but it would be a while until Cloud truly trusted him.

Picking up the TV remote to kill some time, Leon flicked the television off standby and sat on the opposite end of the sofa. It was a worn three-piece leather couch, something that had come with the house. It was quite comfortable; Cloud was already relaxing slightly into it to prove it was. Leon leaned back on the arm of the couch, glancing at the male who looked at him curiously, before returning his attention to the television.

He didn't know what to put on that the wolf might be interested in. He sat up, dropped the remote on Cloud's lap and sat back, folding his arms. "You choose."

With a soft noise of question when the remote landed on his lap, he shrugged and lifted it. He clicked a button and the TV's screen flickered off. Blue eyes widened and he hissed, throwing the remote back at Leon in frustration.

Leon jerked as the remote flew at him without warning and smacked straight into his knee. Picking up the fallen remote and rubbing the spot where it collided with his leg, he muttered "Easy on the remote. You wanna break it?" He turned the TV back on easily, and then looked at Cloud who leveled a dark glare at him. "What's your problem?"

Arms folding, Cloud muttered something about technology and gadgets and how he hated them. Leon stopped listening to his quiet rant after a few moments and switched the news on. He wasn't particularly listening to the headline stories or the weather. Neither was Cloud. But they both took to pretending they found interest in it.

Looking at the clock on the wall after a half hour or so, Leon sat up, stretched until his back clicked and then stood, glancing down at the snoozing blond. He was just as tired as the younger male was; but he had to keep to his promise of food. He'd bring back a variety of raw meat and something for himself, perhaps a few desserts and snacks.

He thought about how Cloud had eaten that half decomposed mouse without hesitation. The blond must have been really hungry to eat such a disgusting rotten creature.

_Well hurry up and get shopping._

Leon crept over to the door, quietly opening it and equally as quietly shutting it closed. He then disappeared into the cool night.

--

It seemed Leon wasn't quiet enough.

With a heightened sense of hearing, as soon as Leon had got up, the creak of the sofa had the blond awake. He stayed still though, and was about to raise his head and question where Leon was going before the brunet was gone. The sound of the quiet click of the door shutting was like someone just closing it properly.

The blond sat up immediately, frowning in confusion. The only thing he could hear now was the ticking of the clock that echoed about the room and the occasional groaning of pipes and radiators about the house. Leon had well and truly left him alone.

At least the male had left a few lights on. Cloud rose slowly, looking around. The place wasn't particularly tidy as Leon had warned him before he'd entered his humble abode. Still, the brunet's house was cozy. He liked it the way it was.

_His nose was telling him there was some investigating to be done!_

Creeping upstairs, Cloud sniffed. From the top of the stairs he already knew where the bathroom and bedroom was. He followed his nose to the bathroom first. Pushing open the door, he revealed a rather large cream color themed room. He'd half expected the bathroom to be quite small given the fact Leon's home wasn't particularly large itself.

The bathtub was rather large itself, and there was a cubicle shower to the side; as well as, obviously, a toilet and a sink. The shower had the most cleansing products within it- which told Cloud that the brunet favored using the shower over the bath. Perhaps this was because showers were much quicker. The restoration leader never did seem to have time on his hands these days anyway.

Spotting an open bottle, the smell of soap coming from it, the blond scooted forwards and sniffed experimentally, the overwhelming smell making his nose scrunch and twitch slightly. "Ugh." Disgusting, how could a human use such substances to cleanse themselves? They should be glad it wore off on their bodies in a matter of hours; the smell was awful.

After sniffing around the bathroom some more, he found himself in Leon's bedroom. He wasn't surprised when he found that it was very simple, quite tidy and plain colored. Eyes roamed from the gunblade case propped up against the wall, to the double bed, which looked as if it had been made quite hastily.

Snuffling, the blond climbed up onto the bed, the mattress and sheets dipping. The sheets appeared inflated-like and rose to hug his knees and thighs when he sat. He gave them an experimental gentle pat. They were very puffy sheets indeed. He slid onto his front, letting the waves of sheet rise as they pillowed his sides. Blue eyes began to flicker closed and he curled up slightly, warm and comfortable, and much more appealing than the cool leather couch downstairs. With a slightly stifled yawn, Cloud found himself drifting off already.

--

Several shopping bags in hand, Leon was on his way home.

He had been longer than expected, as Aerith had stopped him halfway through his grocery shopping to start a conversation with him. After every response he gave, he couldn't help but wish he could tell Aerith he had to get back to Cloud and that it was urgent. But by the way she was talking as she discussed Cloud made him not want to worry her further. She didn't deserve it.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?"

"Aerith, I'm fine. I know what I'm doing."

"Well… okay. But if there's anything you need—"

"—I'll be sure to let you know."

"Take care, okay Leon?"

"Yeah, you too."

The brunet had watched her turn and go, quite relieved the conversation had ended. He hurried to get the rest of the groceries, including some extra toiletries as he didn't know how long Cloud would be staying. Queuing was also irritating, but he calmed himself some by reminding himself that Cloud had been was fast asleep on his couch when he'd left, and that he highly doubted the male would wake in a matter of twenty minutes or so.

Leon entered the house hastily, dropping his keys into the tub on the side and removing his jacket, stepping further inside as his eyes immediately went wide when he discovered that not only Cloud no longer asleep.

_But Cloud was no longer there._

Leon took a deep breath, strode over to the couch, looking for faint footprints that could give him clues as to which way Cloud might have gone. Hidden in the house perhaps? Or maybe he had gone out via the backdoor?

Using his common sense, Leon scouted the house. He found Cloud curled up on his bed, and relieved, went over to the male. Cloud looked something akin to, as he could just hear the girls say: 'cute'. His soft lips were pouted just slightly, cheek pressed into the sheets, hands curled into what looked like half-fists, fingers twitching occasionally in his slumber. Leon resisted the urge to wake him with a comment such as _'Glad you made yourself at home'._ The fact was, he didn't want to wake dear 'Sleeping Beauty' up. It seemed the blond was catching up on much needed sleep.

The brunet turned to go back downstairs. He had groceries to stow and meals to make.

It was merely a half hour or so later that Leon heard noises upstairs. Cloud came downstairs shortly after the noises with a yawn and wordlessly sat himself back down on the sofa, the smell of food making his mouth water and stomach clench and then grumble loudly. Leon watched as the blond inhaled deeply and then murmured with a hint of amusement, "It'll be ready soon."

Slouching back on the couch, Cloud gave a soft snort. He then looked at Leon, raised his chin slightly and spoke in a low voice.

"_You smell like him._"


	4. Crystal Night

Author's Note/Warning: Scene change. Mature content ahead in terms of violence and more! xD. (And also, I must now disclaim: I do not own Cloud, Leon or Kingdom Hearts. Nor have I written this piece for money or anything. This fiction is purely fan made; by a fan for the fans!)

And also: I thank my reviewers. You keep me going!

Another note: 3 Days Grace – Pain helped me write this. Homg.

**The Beast Within**

**Chapter Four**

**Crystal Night**

Gunmetal glinted as it swung, piercing through the empty chest of a Heartless. The beast dissolved under the blade, and immediately the brunet swung at another that lunged for him. He caught before it sunk its claws into his flesh and the monster ended up impaled on his sword, dissipating where its life had ended.

Leon immediately moved on, running forwards as he heard a high pitched cry echo into the night. As soon as he found that blond bastard he'd be able to gain some form of control over the town's chaos. Heartless were roaming the streets, increased in number and wreaking havoc wherever they went, as per usual. Tonight seemed worse than ever.

"_Hyne Cloud… Where are you?" _

A breath, no louder than a whisper, passed his lips. Wincing as a claw successfully pierced the flesh on his leg; he gave a battle cry and swung his blade again, killing three of the attacking Heartless in a neat swipe to his right and running again, approaching the sound of someone crying for help. He still had no idea where Cloud was.

When he finally reached the source, he froze in his tracks, loosening his grip slightly in absolute shock. What he saw before him had his mouth hanging open slightly and eyes widening. The restoration leader took a hesitant step back, then another.

"No…"

The scene portrayed before him was of four Heartless that had sunk their demonic claws into a young boy. Blood was pooling and spreading rapidly around the corpse, but it wasn't blood that had stunned the battle-worn warrior. No, he'd seen and dealt with blood before. What shocked him to the core was the innocent, young, lifeless eyes that were wide in a frozen expression of pure terror. And they were looking in Leon's direction, as if the child had been waiting for someone to be his savior and save him from his death.

_As if to tell him he'd failed again._

Leon gripped his gunblade tighter. The attack on the boy reminded him of the time when his home had fallen to the Heartless; those dead eyes, innocent people dead or crying in agony as they passed away. Grey eyes wavered for a moment, like the flames that ravaged his hometown when it had fallen.

The boy hadn't deserved to die.

----

"Who do I smell like?" Leon calmly responded, very curious and puzzled though he didn't show it. The blond's words had him very much confused, as had all the other nonsensical words the wolfish blond had come out with before.

"You wouldn't know him." Cloud snapped, wringing his hands on his lap for a moment before resting them on his lap. He seemed agitated.

"I might do." Leon answered, shrugging and sitting up a little, his eyes on Cloud. The gunblader was still ever wary of what he said to the blond.

Cloud growled loudly. "I told you; no you _wouldn't_. You didn't know who _I_ was, so you wouldn't know who _he_ is. End of!" Arms folded tightly across his chest like a sulking child, his lips very nearly pouting too.

Leon frowned at his behavior and words. Eventually he just shrugged it off yet again. He didn't want to anger the wolfish blond any further. Leon then paused, deciding to try to ask a different question in hopes of getting a mere hint of who 'he smelt like' at least…

"Hm. What does he smell like then?"

The brunet wasn't really surprised when Cloud didn't respond. He sighed, wondering what in Hyne's name Cloud had meant. Cloud could have been saying these seemingly nonsensical things to annoy him even though Cloud sounded perfectly informative when he told him all these random things… the gunblader wasn't completely certain.

Leon then went into the kitchen to get the food, having heard the ring of the timer which told him the food was ready, and jerked when he heard the door slam suddenly and saw the walls shake at the force of it. A few moments of silence later, a pot crashed to the floor, a button clicked off and the front door burst open again with a yell.

"… _Cloud…!"_

----

Leon took slow step forwards again, eyes blank even as he saw the tiny heart of the young boy float into the air. Clutching his blade, he kept his head low. The Heartless had noticed the gunblader, and immediately jumped up, running and slowly making their way over to the male, claws extending when they got closer.

In a swift motion, Leon had brought up his blade and sliced them all in half, head rising to watch them die at his blade. He then stood still for what seemed like an age, breathing in deeply but rapidly, head lifting as he walked past the dead boy with a feeling of failure. He didn't know what to do with the corpse, and he hardly had any time to deal with it either.

He knew he would be reminded of his failure. It would be in the news, in the town's gossip, how a child died on their streets. Leon would not tell them he'd heard everything, saw the little boy lying motionless before anyone else. He didn't have time to move the boy. Some unfortunate person would find him and take over. Leon had a certain blond to look for, one he suspected may have been behind all of this.

The feeling of failure turned into reminiscence as he yet again recalled the night his hometown fell to the Heartless. He didn't notice how magic was radiating from his gunblade in an orange glow.

--

Bright eyes rove over the ground as he lay across boxes at the gummi-ship docks. Some ships that were in repair had been shattered, and shards of glass littered the floor in front of him. Every time he inclined his head slightly, the broken glass on the ground would shimmer.

_Come out come out; wherever you are…_

Like the world's prettiest carpet, he thought, lips parting slightly as he exhaled softly.

_I'm done with Hide and Seek, come and play…_

How frustrating. And he had been so certain that he would come out tonight, too.

Cloud raised his head, hearing footsteps. Liquid sapphire eyes locked on the owner of them, eyeing them warily. Pushing himself from his sitting position on the boxes, Cloud snarled. The scent was very familiar. It could, perhaps, have even belonged to whom he was searching for. Though, he was listening not for footsteps, but the padding of paws.

"_There you are_."

Cloud's pupils contracted to pin-pricks, leaving nothing but glowing molten blue now. "Leave!"

"_And there I was, thinking you were looking for me..."_

"It's… not you… I want!" Cloud growled lowly, stepping forwards and observing. He couldn't believe it. He knew his own form, human with wolfish features, was pathetic. Well, he'd found what he was looking for at least. Or at least, half of it. He wasn't sure about this… other half.

And with a low chuckle, silver eyes set on the wolf in front of him, furry dark brown round ears rose and the newcomer extended a hand towards Cloud.

"No." The wolf answered a little too sharply in a snarl.

Bringing his hand back, the lion male snorted, brows furrowing, causing the scar that tore across his face to crease slightly. Silver eyes flashed.

Leon sashayed towards Cloud; his long, dark tail flickering as he licked along his lips. "_Come on then wolfie, let us play…"_

"I'm not sure I want to anymore." Cloud retorted, ignoring how the lion was getting ever closer, the boots the male wore made the glass beneath his feet crackle with every slow footstep. The blond glanced down, and just as he was about the look up, he felt more than saw Leon come crashing into him.

Cloud was suddenly pinned against the wall with a face full of pleased-looking lion. Perhaps he had found what he was looking for. A smirk began to slowly spread onto his face.

In a swift movement, Cloud reversed their positions and shoved Leon up against the wall hard, grinning so wide that his pointy fangs were visible, glistening. Just as he was leaning in to Leon's neck, a choking noise came from his lion's throat, and he jerked back suddenly, eyes wide.

"Lion?"

"Cloud… get off of me…" Gunmetal grey eyes settled on the blond in front of him, breathing heavy. It took Cloud a few moments to figure out what he meant, then eyes narrowed and he grabbed Leon by the shirt, throwing him to the ground amongst the shards of glass.

"No! You give him back to me!"

Leon was dazed for a moment, little cuts beginning to bleed a few seconds after landing on the non-too-comfortable carpet. He didn't understand what Cloud had meant, nor how he'd come to find the blond in the end. "W…What?"

"You give him back to me!" Cloud howled, standing over Leon's body, blue eyes brighter than the rest of him, like a Shadow Heartless in the dark of an alleyway. Leon shook his head, looking up at the towering blond, not understanding. He jerked when he felt a solid boot slam into his side, and he groaned in pain, writhing on the floor, eyes flashing silver as if the lion within him was being provoked into coming out.

Cloud noticed this.

A small smirk spread across his face once more, replacing the look of absolute fury. He reached down, curling his fingers around Leon's neck, beginning to squeeze.

"You give him to me, or you die by my hands for not doing so."


	5. Going Wayward

**The Beast Within**

**Chapter Five**

**Going Wayward**

One minute he'd been walking away from a bloody corpse of a young boy and the next he was underneath Cloud, whom looked utterly livid.

And on top of that, strong hands were now squeezing tightly on his neck. He did put up a fight, kicking and pushing hard at Cloud, whose eyes were locked with his, molten swirling blue looking straight into eyes that flickered between grey and silver infrequently. He kept having moments where everything went black, as if he'd lost consciousness, but kept coming back after a few seconds. Unbeknownst to Leon himself, this was when his eyes had gone that bright silver.

Was Cloud, or the wolf, really going to kill him?

"C……loud…" Leon wheezed, his efforts to free himself of those squeezing hands coming to a halt like a slowing train. His arms began to feel like they were no longer his, foreign even – as if too heavy to keep them up. His vision had begun to darken, black spots flickering like old movie grains. He could feel his body giving up as he started to go limp.

Cloud let go.

Dragging in a sharp lungful of air and gulping, he jerked in surprise rather than pain when a hand slapped the side of his face; hard. The stinging of it came when his senses started to return. His fuzzy vision gradually cleared and he saw Cloud again. The blond was sat upright, looking in a different direction, still sat on top of the limp brunet.

Still struggling to breathe, Leon didn't move. Cloud sat motionless for a moment, and then turned back to Leon with flashing eyes and a wide grin.

"Are you going to give him to me yet?" Cloud sounded only a little impatient, given that the man had nearly just squeezed the life out of the brunet.

Leon, at first, didn't understand him. He stared at Cloud in confusion before remembering why he was on the floor in the first place. He shook his head. "I don't know how…!"

Cloud didn't seem to take that as an answer. He glared hatefully at the brunet, staring down at him before growling. "All this time I've been looking for my lion, and he manifests himself in _you._" It was said as if the lion was a spirit of royalty which had possessed a peasant. The blond was looking down his nose at the brunet "My host let me use his body without complaint! Why do you have to be different?"

As Leon rubbed his neck where Cloud had tried to strangle him, he responded "Your host?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, host…This body; this skin." His words were spoken as if Leon was supposed to have known it. As if it had been blatantly obvious what a 'host' meant in those terms.

Leon attempted to comprehend everything that was being said to him. Everything was still so confusing.

_"Maybe he didn't turn to the darkness__. Maybe something else is wrong."_

He'd been right. Cloud hadn't given into the darkness this time. Something inside of him had taken over his body. It sounded like the wolf was a separate being to Cloud, that the wolf had possessed the blond. Leon had to hope that Cloud wasn't lost to this wolf.

And if what Cloud had been saying about there being a lion inside of him was true… would he lose the battle if the lion wanted to be free like Cloud had said? Would he become what Cloud was now? He couldn't afford to be. There was too much restoration to be done, too many people to protect.

His stomach lurched as he remembered the young boy's dead, sightless eyes. A cruel image imprinted itself on his mind like a reminder of what this wolf had done. He felt sick. "You summoned those Heartless didn't you." He stated more than asked, shaking a little "You killed a child, maybe even more."

Cloud tilted his head in Leon's direction, sapphire blue eyes glancing at him from the corner of his eyes. "I do not understand what you say." He responded dully, calm as he flexed his fingers which were curled slightly like claws.

Shifting slightly where he was lying on the floor, Leon eyed Cloud as if to try and see if he was telling the truth, just by looking at his face. The male didn't seem to look like he was lying, but as they say; looks can be deceiving. He moved again, the floor pressing hard on his shoulder bones and back. He still had the weight of the blond sat on top of him, and it was quite cold outside that evening. He stared at the sky.

There weren't many clouds out, but one could see a little of the moon which was peeking out of a single thick cloud as if to warily see if the danger had gone yet. A few sparkling stars dotted the sky where there was no clouds to obscure them. A light breeze made Leon's hair ruffle a little where he lay, and reminded him how cold he actually was as goose bumps prickled his muscular arms.

He couldn't lay there _forever_. He didn't want to.

"Cloud?" He questioned quietly, eyes going down to look at the spiky haired man sat on him. Cloud wasn't paying attention, as blue eyes were set on the half hidden moon.

"Come on." Cloud urged eagerly "Come out." The words were spoken soothingly, like encouragement to a toddler taking their first steps. The wolf rose from where he was sat, a soft noise of what could have been relief coming from the brunet below him. He kept his eyes on the moon, even as he walked away, boots making soft thuds on the stone floor below him. "There's no need to be afraid." He assured the moon, flexing his fingers again and then looking down at a house in front of him.

Leon took the opportunity to sit up, then stand, albeit stiffly. He shook himself clean of little shards of glass quickly and stepped forwards. He immediately felt the sting of a hundred miniature cuts in his back and arms. The floor was beautiful, shimmering like diamonds under half of the moonlight. Such beauty below him caused him pain, said the little droplets of blood running from the tiny cuts.

He couldn't even remember where he'd put his gunblade. He didn't even remember how he'd got there. Putting a hand to his head, he stood still. He was unarmed, and Cloud was evidently stronger than him right then. He kept his distance from Cloud but stayed close enough to know where he was and what he was going to do next.

His eyes were on Cloud as he watched him keep walking. Leon jerked suddenly when Cloud put a foot forward, broke into a run and then disappeared completely.

_Hyne above… I've lost him already._

Slate grey eyes scanned the area around him, and he whirled on the spot, warily glancing at the empty street behind him. He turned back around, feeling quite vulnerable where he stood with no weapon at hand, no energy for magic and _no _idea where Cloud had suddenly gone off to. Even though Leon was unarmed, he'd automatically adopted a defensive stance, his feet steady on the ground, knees bent slightly and muscles tensed. His body was readying itself for an attack.

The silence was abruptly broken when a long howl was released into the night air.

Leon looked up from where he was stood.

And there was Cloud.

Brilliantly poised where he was sat, Cloud was crouching on a rooftop, feet curled slightly on the spine of it to steady himself, slender fingers holding on and chin tilted upwards, his soft mouth shaped like an 'o'. From Leon's angle, the blond was nothing but a slender shadow in front of the silvery moon, a silhouette with grey and silver highlights.

The blond howled again, a perfect unwavering note echoing into the bare streets. The pure beauty of it stunned Leon for a moment. He felt drawn in, eyes on the wolf carefully positioned on the centre of the roof.

Leon's slightly parted lips closed as the note ended. He hadn't even noticed they had opened. A shudder rippled through his muscular frame, and he stammered "Cloud.", before his vision went black.

--

"They've been gone for_ever_!" Yuffie shrieked, pushing on the giant wooden door that was the entrance to Merlin's house. "I don't think they're coming back too soon!" She spoke breathlessly, eyes on the rest of the restoration committee who were gathered around Cid's computer.

Cid shook his head "Y'all don't have to be shovin' on that door! We can handle 'em!"

Yuffie gasped as something shoved on the door violently, nearly causing it to open, but just about kept her hold "_Now_ you tell me?" She abruptly pushed off from the wooden frame, jumping over to the others and whirling, drawing a large shuriken as she did so with a shout of "Ha!"

The door was soon thrown open without the ninja's weight to stop it.

Tifa had been stood guarding herself with her fists raised, and had changed her stance as soon as the door had slammed against the wall behind it. It was so forceful that the walls shook and a little plaster crumbled from where the door handle slammed into the wall. Her fists nearly fell to her sides as a familiar figure appeared in the doorway but she recovered quickly with a look of determination on her face.

"You."

As the blond stepped into the light of the little house, Cloud turned and looked at them all each in turn. His gaze stopped on the short haired bouncing girl who'd called his host's name, then flickered over to the girl in pink who'd clasped her hands at her chest and had eyes filled with concern. He tilted his head to stare at the man at the computer, who had half risen out of his seat and seemed to be frozen on the spot. He saw an elderly male behind them, and a woman who seemed to have her guard up, looking at him in a way he saw as challenging.

A low growl rumbled in his throat, which made the others flash each other looks of unease. All except for Tifa, who gritted her teeth and just kept her fists raised. It annoyed him, as he'd meant to intimidate her and make her back down. He sashayed forwards, with a calm exterior and a burning desire to sink his fangs into the woman's neck and end the disobedient human's life.

His lips pulled back into a wide, cunning smirk. And then he leapt.

Tifa closed her eyes and waited.

A loud whimpering noise was heard, and a crashing noise and the sound of splintering wood.

Tifa opened her eyes slowly.

Dust had erupted from Merlin's table, but as soon as it eventually cleared, she gasped as Aerith and Yuffie did. Cloud lay amongst the messily halved table's remains and glared up as he saw Leon pinning him. The gunblader rose, dragging the wolfish male to his feet by his collar as he did so.

Cloud's nostrils flared in fury, and he gripped Leon's wrist with two hands. He wasn't being throttled like he'd done to Leon earlier, but he wanted the brunet to let go of his shirt as it was digging into the back of his neck and under his arms.

There was no attention paid to Cloud as Leon turned to the others, out of breath as he asked "Is everyone alright?" He ignored how the blond was shoving at him, thrashing for freedom like a trapped rodent.

Aerith stepped forwards, looking at the side of Cloud she hadn't seen before. He looked furious, and glared hatefully at only Leon now. She wanted to reach out and give him her warm touch to calm him. But even in some form of humanity, Aerith had never really warmed the stoic male with her affections. She felt a wave of disappointment, and didn't come any closer. "We're alright…" She answered for everyone.

Yuffie put her hands on her hips "Where _were _you guys!? And all these Heartless! They're running wild…! Cid's trying to figure out what's going on… are you okay Leon? He hasn't hurt you has he? Couldn't you have call—"

Raising a hand in dismissal, Leon just answered "I'm fine, he's fine…" He paused, not sure whether the part where Cloud hadn't turned to the darkness after all was worth mentioning, whether the part where he was supposed to be some lion was worth mentioning too… perhaps not. His friends didn't need burdening with any more worries, right?

Realizing that the others had been waiting for more information as he'd trailed off so quickly, he nodded in finality. Tifa breathed relief, and then questioned quietly "Did you find out anything else about what's going on with him?" Only Leon would know, because only Leon spent time with Cloud finding out.

_Yes I did, Tifa._

"No." Leon replied smoothly. "He hasn't said much… I'm starting to believe it's actually the darkness."

He saw Aerith deflate and lower her head, and didn't understand why. Shouldn't she have been glad that Cloud (supposedly) wasn't suffering from something else? That there was (supposed) hope? Of course, _Leon_ didn't know about the confrontation between the two merely days before.

_To Aerith, it meant that Cloud truly didn't love her, darkness aside._

Turning to look at them all each in turn, Leon dragged Cloud to his side, comfortably close. "All I can say is… we can just hope he's back to his normal self again soon."

The others, except Cid and Merlin, nodded their heads. The blond mechanic was tapping away at his computer and Merlin was tidying some spell books away as if he didn't want to participate in conversation himself, but only listen.

"So… what now?"

_The million munny question, _Leon thought. He shrugged, "Cloud will come with me until he's back to himself." Again, nobody seemed to have any complaints about it. Though Leon didn't say Cloud would go _home _with him. In fact, the brunet intended to take the blond quite far away until he could figure out what to do with both the blond, and himself.

All he could think about was the roaring lion inside of him, the one that had caused him to supposedly 'pass out' earlier. He'd figured out that every time he'd apparently passed out, the lion had gained control. He wanted to know… if he was going to lose control, he wanted to know exactly what he was doing. Because he'd hate to think he'd be oblivious to damage he may have done upon losing control.

"I'll be going." Leon nodded, pulling Cloud along. The blond had eventually learned he wasn't going anywhere too soon and complied, for now.

Leon gave a short nod of approval to Cloud, who growled angrily at him. The brunet noted that he shouldn't do that again. There definitely still a lot to learn, from rotten rodent corpses being eaten to how Cloud could suddenly turn on him even if he'd been remotely friendly all day. He'd hate to think he'd end up with another scar on his face for being careless with the possessed blond.

As soon as they were back onto the streets and quite far away from Merlin's house, Leon shoved Cloud up against a wall. "Explain."

To his surprise, Cloud wasn't the least bit perturbed, and tipped his head slowly, a small smirk creeping onto his lips as he began to think he'd gained some form of control again. "Explain what?" He asked innocently, reaching out and stroking Leon's slender side. Humans were awfully fragile; he simply _couldn't _forgive himself if he snapped the brunet in two. That was, of course, when he transformed.

"You know _exactly _what." Leon told him firmly, not slapping the hands away as he kept pressure on Cloud's two shoulders against the wall. His skin tingled at the touch, and he growled lowly. Even the brunet wasn't stupid enough to take the blond's hands away. All Cloud needed was one second of expected freedom to break free and cause damage.

"I do not."

"You do." Leon assured him, gripping those shoulders tightly and digging his nails into the blond's left one, into the bare skin.

Cloud hissed, "You are going to have to … _elaborate._"

"Who's this lion who's supposed to have 'manifested' himself inside me? What's going on? If you've taken Cloud as 'your host', where's Cloud?" He kept a firm grip on the blond, and it tightened slightly ask the questions poured out of his mouth.

Oh Cloud loved this. He adored how he could keep information to himself; he didn't have to tell Leon anything. Leon could take away his physical control any day. But there was no such thing as mindreading in the human world, and no amount of interrogation could take away this wonderful control he had over the brunet. He could see hints of desperation in Leon's eyes. And he fed upon it.

The gunblader was growing weary. He grabbed Cloud, and shoved him against the wall again "Tell me." He demanded, scowling when Cloud only grinned like a fat Cheshire Cat in a vat of cream, the scar on his face crinkling a little.

"…Whatever." He pulled Cloud again, storming off back to the gummi ship port. No time to lose on collecting luggage. Cloud himself was luggage to carry. Destinations ran through his head. Where could they go? Perhaps they could just go a little out of town, not to another world altogether.

Leon paused, grip on Cloud as tight as ever.

Cloud stiffened, turned his head and snarled angrily, trying to jerk himself free of Leon's hold.

By the time Leon had turned, his vision had gone completely black again. He half felt something slam into him and he began to fall to the waiting ground before losing control to the lion inside of him.


	6. Grin and Bare Them

**The Beast Within**

**Chapter Six**

**Grin and Bare Them**

"Hello?" A voice echoed, although it felt like it was within his mind. Perhaps it was. He couldn't see anything but blackness around him. He didn't even feel _placed._ What he felt like was that he was just _there_. He didn't _feel _anything, see anything, wasn't sure he was _hearing _anything for that matter. He was left to his thoughts and that was all, as he floated in this nothingness.

Then, when he thought he'd been left to waste away in this blackness, he reached out at the faintest smudge of light in his 'vision'. It took the form of a blurred window, shadows moving in the dimmed vision. He strained to see more, trying so hard to focus.

And all of a sudden, a red smudge appeared across the 'window' and he recoiled slightly. It looked awfully familiar to blood.

What was going on? Where in the name of Hyne was he?

Concentrating on the window again, which had begun to fade when his attention wasn't on it, he strained to see more. The image became clearer with more effort he put in to look through. He was shocked to see he was looking at his own hands, which were splattered in crimson blood. Yet, there was no sign of any wound to them.

He suddenly realized what was happening.

This was him losing control to the lion, and he himself was tucked away into the back of his own mind. Two beings as one, and there was no sharing of one body at a time. It was either the lion making movements, or Leon. No halfway mark.

He turned his attention to the lion's sight again, watching every move. He saw Cloud sat cross legged, and when the lion sat too, an animal corpse was visible, it's throat torn out and it's blank eyes bulging.

Leon saw how Cloud's—no, the wolf's— mouth was a bloody mess. The wolf and the lion were sat together in the middle of some woodland somewhere. Leon wondered if Cloud was watching from the safety of his mind too.

It suddenly struck Leon that he'd possibly end up like Cloud too, trapped within his own mind and unable to gain control. Did Cloud even want control? Leon had to find a way to regain his, there were people relying on him for restoration, his friends and the townspeople. He was the _leader_.

What was a team without their leader?

The Lion's vision changed as he looked aside, giving Leon the brief opportunity to see everything around the two. There was nothing but darkness and trees. When the Lion turned back around again, Leon saw Wolf's lips moving, but heard nothing. He wished he could hear what was being said. Perhaps it would give him more clues as to what was happening.

_Come on, let me out…!_

Leon pushed for freedom, wanting his body back and becoming restless with just sitting in blackness. He needed answers, needed to fulfill his promise to his friends. The woodland area wasn't exactly the place he'd planned to take Cloud. But on the contrary, if the Wolf wasn't going to give Cloud back too soon, perhaps he'd be happier surrounded by plants and fresh air.

_Hyne damn it!_

He strained for freedom, concentrating on nothing else but getting his mind back. Suddenly, there was a feeling of vertigo and the standing man stumbled forwards. He heard a low growling voice of his own speaking directly to him, "Do not fight me next time."

He shook his head, feeling brunet bangs tickle his skin. His body was his again! He stroked his own face in disbelief, then flexed his fingers and legs, stretching slightly, as if he'd been sat down for hours on end when in fact, he literally hadn't.

Sat down on the floor surrounded by leaves, was the wolf. Leon turned, and the wolf gave him a look of what could have been some form of compassion, whether it was sympathy or concern, Leon couldn't tell. The brunet cleared his throat quietly.

"The lion…" He spoke simply, meeting those sapphire eyes which glowed even in the dark of the night, the moon shrouded by trees. The wolf was motionless, and gave him a short nod in acknowledgement. Leon continued, "Is… Cloud in there?" He would have motioned to the wolf's head, but he didn't, as he was fairly sure the wolf knew exactly what he meant.

"Yes," Came the slightly thick response from the sitting blond.

Inhaling smoothly through his nose, Leon crouched and shook his head, "Where did you come from? Where did this… beast within me come from?" He let his fingers brush gently against the crumbling dead leaves under his fingers, causing them to make soft crinkling noises.

The wolf stared at the hand for a moment, before returning his attention to Leon's eyes. "We did not 'appear' from anywhere, we have always existed, just not quite so obviously. Do you not see? You were born with a lion within you."

Leon still didn't understand, and pressed, "Born with a lion within me? …But… why? Does everyone have an animal within them? And Cloud? Why is he a wolf?"

"Too many questions…" A soft growl came from the wolf, and he rose fluidly from his cross-legged position on the floor, bones cracking as he did so. The wolf didn't bother wiping the rapidly congealing blood away from his mouth, looking evenly down at Leon's staring eyes. "Your question is one similar to 'Why the world created?' and 'Why was I born a male?'… The answer is simple."

Leon gave him a questioning look and stood too, waiting for the wolf's answer as he paused.

"Just… Because…" The wolf finally responded, then clicked his tongue and smirked, "Is there anything else you require?"

"More answers." Leon spoke quietly, "You do realize you must be fair with Cloud. And allow him freedom as I will do with this lion inside of me." He tapped the side of his head to help put across his point.

A low growl rumbled in the wolf's throat, "I am deeply offended." He told Leon, irritated. "That you think I have not _offered_ my dear host the opportunity to _share_ this one shell." He snarled, baring pearly extended fangs. "You realize that your dear _Cloud_ does not _wish _to 'come out'."

Taken-aback, Leon shook his head. "Why?" He asked, confused. Yes, why wouldn't Cloud jump at the opportunity to have his body back?

"Hmm~ shall we say…" The wolf trailed off for thought, pacing in front of Leon. "He is cowardly?"

Leon shook his head. That wasn't a valid answer. The blond swordsman was a warrior, and warriors couldn't afford to be cowardly. Cowardly people didn't fight off Heartless and his own darkness day in day out to save their town. Leon could say that Cloud was often selfish, but not _cowardly._

"You do not like that term? I believe he is." The wolf said shortly, rocking on his heels and continuing to pace the ground in a thin oval shaped movement, spinning around every time he turned to walk in the other direction, "So I may have hunted a human or two or five when I first gained control of our body. What can I say? Years of waiting, hungrily, for the taste of freedom!" The wolf shook his head, "The _coward_ sunk further back into our mind! Refusing to come out! Refusing to accept what he had finally subjected himself to. He had fought and fought until he could not fight any longer. _I _gained control at last."

Leon couldn't believe his ears. "Cloud _hid_ from what he'd done?" He asked incredulously. Rubbing the scar that tore across his face, he closed his eyes. What could he say? "I don't believe it…" He started before the wolf interrupted him.

"There you go again, insulting me."

"What?"

"You imply I am a liar now?!" The wolf growled, tossing up leaves with a kick to the ground, "I speak truthfully!"

"I apologize." Sincere in his words, Leon locked gazes with the wolf, "Is there anything I can do to encourage him to … come back?" He murmured, folding his arms across his chest. If there was anything, he was prepared to do it.

The wolf looked contemplative, and then shook his head. "My host seems quite intent on spending more time nestled safely at the back of our mind, where neither you nor I can reach him." He sighed near wistfully.

Leon moved closer, touching the wolf's shoulder and murmuring, "Do you think he can hear me?"

The wolf lifted a shoulder lazily in a shrug, "I do not think so. But it is worth a try."

The gunblader cleared his throat a little, then spoke quietly into the wolf's ear, "Cloud." He started with his name, addressing him directly. He knew that when the lion was in control, he'd not been able to hear anything. But neither had he been able to _see _anything until he'd learned how to.

"The girls miss you." He continued, at a loss on how to word his thoughts. He muttered, "We all do." He rested his hand on the blond's shoulder, "Fighting Heartless isn't the same without you." He smirked at his own words, shaking his head a little.

"Get a hold of yourself…" The words were spoken jokingly.

Leon pulled back slightly as the blond turned his head, and met Leon with duller baby blue eyes, _Cloud's _eyes.

"You…" Leon started, brows knitting together as he scowled. He stepped back from Cloud, shaking his head. "You have _no_ idea…"

"I do." Cloud sighed, folding his arms and rubbing them against the cold. "You wouldn't understand." He shook his head.

"I don't think I would." Leon admitted tensely. He looked at the blond warming himself up. As the night had progressed, it had gotten cooler, to a point where it was just chilly. For a moment, Leon wondered if he should put his arm around the blond to help warm him up. Cloud looked so fragile without those glowing eyes for some strange reason.

Leon sighed, "You know they've been worrying about you, right?"

"I know." Cloud responded dully, "I couldn't…"

"Save it." Leon snapped, walking away from the selfish blond. Cloud could have gained control at _any_ given time! Cloud had watched everything happen, watched death by the wolf's… _his_ hands,_ that selfish, selfish bastard. _

Cloud sighed heavily, walking after Leon. Even he didn't know what was going on. Neither of them knew where they were. Leon stopped, and then shook his head, "It's too late. We need to rest for the night." He began to wordlessly gather firewood without even looking at the blond, not seeing the agreeing nod and not caring. He couldn't stay angry at the blond forever; he just didn't want to waste air on the selfish man right then.

Glancing to the side of him and not moving to gather firewood, Cloud watched Leon from the corner of his eye, arms still folded and the rubbing of his arms slowing.

He watched the brunet bend over to forage some good firewood, saw Leon's white shirt ride up to show a thin line of soft pale skin. His eyes drifted to Leon's backside, the leather tight against it when he bent over. Cloud quickly looked away with colored cheeks.

Firewood… right… He looked around, kneeling to pick up some dry wood that was good for burning. He turned and found that Leon was already dropping his collection on the ground and was pushing rocks in a circle around the heap of wood. He remembered that the purpose of the stones was to stop the fire from spreading, and nodded, going to carefully add his wood to Leon's collection.

Leon nodded in acknowledgement, and then set about lighting the fire. Cloud half expected Leon to do it manually, but Leon cast a weak fire spell on the wood, and flames curled around the wood, latching onto it and spreading slowly. Leon turned and brushed his hands on the back of his pants, not seeing how Cloud stared.

"That should do it." Leon announced, sitting himself down and drawing one knee to himself, the other lean leg stretching out. Cloud was sat at the other side of the fire, looking at Leon through the flickering flames. He saw how the scarred brunet was glowing an exotic orange color, how the light shone unsteadily on his face.

Leon didn't seem to want to engage in any conversation with the blond, and seemed perfectly content with the silence between them. It wasn't uncomfortable in any means. Cloud would have liked someone to talk to after all of those days spent alone just watching the wolf's doings and not wishing to come out.

It wasn't because he was being selfish, he just didn't want to face his friends as the coward he was. And each time the wolf did something his foot in the grave sank deeper and created more reasons not to come out from his hiding place. There was much more to it than Leon had assumed.

But what Leon didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Not yet, anyway.


	7. Trapped Within

**The Beast Within**

**Chapter Seven**

**Trapped Within**

"Tifa!"

The shocked cry that burst from the other room followed by scraping noises and the sound of things breaking made Tifa raise her head swiftly. She abruptly got to her feet and darted into the next room. Time seemed to come to a halt as many Heartless were roaming the streets, like a black moving carpet with bright yellow eyes flashing in her direction. In the dark of night, she couldn't see just how many there were. But it wasn't the number of Heartless out there that was the issue...

Aerith backed off and looked over at Tifa almost expectantly. Worried green eyes locked with angry dark ones and suddenly Tifa leapt forwards just as a Heartless scurried in Aerith's direction. The moment it leapt to sink it's claws into the healer was the moment it met Tifa's clenched fist and was thrown into the wall. Tifa whirled around and kicked another Heartless running at them with a battle cry.

"Where are the others?" Aerith called over Tifa's grunts of effort and the scraping of claws on the cold stone floor. She kept Tifa healed, as the occasional Heartless dug its claws right into her or managed to swipe at her skin.

Tifa hadn't heard her, sweat breaking on her brow as she kept her concentration on where the creatures were coming from next. She noticed that whenever she killed one, three more seemed to appear from nowhere. And as a result, she was rapidly becoming outnumbered. Tiredness was soon taking over, magick energy was becoming sparse and there seemed to be more pouring into Merlin's home. The place's interior was practically destroyed, bits of torn paper littering the floor and showing broken words beneath black claws.

"Tifa!" Aerith cried out as the Heartless crawled around her and then climbed up her legs. She desperately tried to summon a little more magic to heal Tifa, but it was as futile an effort as a parched traveler trying to get a drop out of a canteen of water that had dried out of liquid hours beforehand. There was nothing left to draw.

"Anybody?" Aerith tried to push the Heartless away. She felt them digging into her own skin, claws piercing the flesh and blood trickling down her legs and arms. She began to sink to her knees, weighed down by many Heartless clinging to her, pulling her to the cold floor...

Her vision was about to be smothered with black. And she began to wonder what would become of her, how she hadn't prayed, and how she was going to die. Lots of little claws slashed her skin, and it felt as if she was wearing a heavy coat of knives. The floor had become incredibly wet, and for a moment she thought it had been raining indoors... No, it wasn't water... It was her blood –her own blood. She was going to die. She couldn't hear Tifa, or the others. What about the others?

Just before the last bit of light was to be extinguished, a piercing bright red light flashed before her eyes. She heard growls and grunts and suddenly the coat of Heartless seemed to be washed away as if turned into sand. She could barely see and was about to collapse before a green light washed over her. Blinking a few times, Aerith's vision cleared and she saw Tifa sat on the floor a few feet away from her, looking at her with shared confusion and then they both looked to the floor as the torn pages of books slowly drifted with a breeze that wasn't there.

Hair flowing and a deep set frown on his face, Merlin clenched his fists as the book pages began to piece themselves back together slowly, swirling around in a slow spinning motion. The wizard stepped forwards as Aerith and Tifa pushed themselves to their feet. Disturbance was set into his wrinkled features and in a voice completely different to his usual tone, Merlin lowered his head and stated simply, "These are dark times."

"Where..." Tifa cleared her throat, glancing at Merlin and continuing, "Are the others...? They're not--"

"They're not here." Merlin finished her sentence for her, his own voice seeming to come back now. But he still sounded unsettled. "I know what you are thinking. And I can only say they know how to take care of themselves..."

"But didn't you see how many there were?!" Tifa interrupted, "You saw! You saw how we nearly _died..._" Aerith clasped her hands together and shook her head gently, hoping for the best for the others and shivering at remembering the feel of those claws ripping into her skin.

"I know how many there are. And there is nothing more we can do without the chosen wielders of the keyblade." He shook his head, an aged hand stroking his soft white beard thoughtfully. "All we can do is hope for the best."

"We've barely restored the town..." Tifa shook her head too. The restoration committee's efforts seemed to be a complete waste. Radiant Garden seemed to be slipping back to being Hollow Bastion. Too much time and effort had gone into the town, only for it to be destroyed. She hated to think what Leon would be like at seeing the town being ripped apart. She hadn't seen Leon for the past couple of days though. She knew not to worry of him and Cloud. She knew they could take care of themselves. She then remembered Cloud wasn't well. Was he responsible for the Heartless? No... He simply couldn't be. She looked over at Merlin raised the broken door and began to repair it, the hinges reattaching themselves to the door. And before it swung shut, she saw another set of yellow eyes pop up in the darkness, and a full moon shining overhead. She closed her eyes as the door slammed to a magic-sealed close.

----

Dirt was kicked up as paws thudded against the ground. Dark fur glittered with patches moonlight that ran over him in a blur. The trees tried to be intimidating, towering over his lower body. He felt like the king of the jungle, living up to the title that came with the name. _Lion._

Darting between trees easily, his rounded brown ears raised as the sound of smaller paws hitting the ground behind him. Thoughts quickly ran through his mind, playful and scheming. _Oooh, a chase he wants a chase he gets... Or should I run behind here and pounce on him? Surprise him? Is it a race? Maybe he's racing..._

He shook his head clear of thoughts, dark brown mane swishing as he kept on running. He felt free, able to do whatever he liked. The world was his to explore. Nobody should dare cross his path. He felt his tongue flopping uselessly over his lips and flapping backwards because he was racing on. Only when he felt like his lungs were about to explode did he slow down to collapse next to a stream. Only when his heart began beating slower did he begin to think a little more coherently.

_Where the hell am I? _Lion's ears raised again as the wolf trotted into view, his tongue also lolling and blue eyes flashing with mischief. The lion turned around and dunked his muzzle into the cool water. _I... This feels good. I feel so free. I love to run... But wait! What in Hyne's name am I doing? This is crazy! I need to be Leon! I need to go back! _He couldn't control it. How could he convince the beast within him to give him his body back? He was burning with heat from running, and the cool night breeze washing over his hot fur was welcomed with open arms.

_Hyne above... The others are gonna worry. _Lion drank the cold water thirstily, eyes closing. He heard the wolf beside him do the same, his golden fur shining brightly. They were still themselves. He could tell this lion he wanted the body back. He felt everything the lion did, and the running... it was fantastic. He shared the lion's thoughts, of hunting, of play fighting and of the wolf. There was a very strong connection between the lion and the wolf, he'd noticed. And when Leon had gotten his body back for a good few minutes, he and Cloud shared a grin of understanding. Of how great the feeling was.

But so wrong! He was possessed but loving it? How did that make sense? Leon wasn't the sort of guy to enjoy losing control, but the feeling of freedom... It was far too great to dislike. He didn't quite understand. But it had only been a day or two. Or had it? He'd lost count... He'd lost _objective. _He had come there to find Cloud, and here he was. He came there to find answers, and the answers had been given. It was time to go back, and he didn't want to. He wanted to run around without a care, _the King of the jungle_, forever. He was arguing with himself. _Hyne above... My head..._

The wolf was looking at him expectantly when he brought his muzzle from the water and licked his lips. It was as if he could sense distress or confusion. If it wasn't that that Leon puzzled over, it was how the wolf trotted over and gave him a quick nuzzle in passing. This made Leon's ears prick again, and he watched as Cloud sloped off. It didn't make sense. He felt a strange sense of companionship just as Cloud passed, and he watched the golden figure move into the shadows of the trees. Nostrils flaring, he picked up his scent and immediately followed. He couldn't let Cloud go anywhere when he knew they had to go back soon.

He remembered the boy's blank eyes staring at him, feeling guilt chew at him. His ears had fallen back by then, and the wolf had turned around again, his own ears half fallen. Confused eyes locked onto concerned ones and Leon stepped forwards to follow Cloud once more. He then learned that whatever mood change he had, the wolf would be aware of it. It was as if, as animals, they were tuned into each other's thoughts, motives and emotions.

It continued to amaze Leon no end, but he felt the pressing need to get back to Radiant Garden. He needed to let the others know what he'd found out. Assure them Cloud hadn't fallen to the darkness. He paused for thought. What if the two of them couldn't control when the beast wanted to escape and they ended up turning in front of the others? Could he really tell the others that not only Cloud was going insane for trying to keep the beast back, but he was too? He let his eyes slide shut. He wanted to curl up in a nice warm spot and just sl-- _No! I have to get back to the others! You don't understand..._

The lion was reluctant, but gave Leon his form back regardless. Slowly, he felt his paws turn to human hands, the fur sliding back into the skin. He felt his ears lower and his mane become controlled. His body was slowly shaping back into Leon curled up on the floor. His clothes were torn and muddy, but thank Hyne they were still there. He looked up to see the wolf sat, eyes shining in the darkness. He knew what was going on.

Cloud was refusing to go back.


End file.
